January 20, 2009

1. Receiving Christ in the Blessed Eucharist gives me the strength to fight selfish pride and sin. I’m not saying I’m a saint. The truth is far far away from that. Ask my wife. But I do know that pride and my ego are the two constant demons I must battle. I want my pleasure, my sleep, my comfort, my free time to do what I want. It’s a constant struggle to kill these impulses especially when they impede on other priorities and other relationships. And I already know I cannot win alone. I wasn’t made perfect. I was made weak and frail and egotistical so that I can acknowledge that any good that happens is from God.

Because it takes supernatural strength to combat ego. And I get that strength from my Lord as He is present in the Eucharist. The sanctifying grace that pours through me when I receive the consecrated host allows me to stop before uttering a word of anger, or engaging in a selfish sin. And truly, those days when I fail, the days when my weak flesh regains control, are the days when I fail to receive communion, or decide not to show up at the morning mass.

2. Praising God first thing in the morning is the most important thing on my daily calendar.First things first, as they say. And since I’ve been blessed to live a mere walking distance away from my parish, I take it as a privilege and a gift that I can make God the first thing in my day literally by worshipping Him in His temple. Add to that the fact that God asks for the first fruits of your harvest, the first tenth of all your blessings. Going to Mass is offering the first part of my day to the Lord who is the source of all my blessing.

3. The Mass is my ongoing spiritual formation.The beautiful thing about the Mass is that is so drenched in scripture. And attending it every weekday allows me to soak in God’s Word. Since I play the organ as well and get to pick the songs each day, it means I am forced to read each day’s readings ahead of time so that the music fits the liturgy. Add to this the enriching homilies put forth by the trio of SVD priests who pastor our parish, and you get a full Catholic education in Christ, stewardship, the sacraments, the saints, and evangelization 260 days a year. Growing in the Lord a day at a time.

4. The Mass heals.Every Mass is a healing experience. It heals wounds caused by our sinful nature, it heals our relationship with God and one another, bringing us closer to our Lord, giving us opportunities to draw near and receive Him not only in the Word, but also in the Blessed Eucharist.

Back in my first two years of high school, I used to curse quite foully. Every other word was dirty and spiteful, and it was affecting me, tainting my mood, keeping me in a constant state of anger and impatience. I started going to the daily mass in third year and after a while, without my noticing, the foul vocabulary died away. In fact it only came to my attention when my classmates started wondering why I wasn’t cursing anymore. These days I pray for healing of a different kind. And I have faith that the Lord will grant it to me as long as I stay faithful to Him.

5. I meet my creator, my friend and my love. As Saint Augustine says: my heart is restless until it rests in You. I find shelter in the wings of the Lord. Every morning, I find it at His temple. During the day, I find it in silent prayer wherever I am. I yearn for Him every morning knowing my day is incomplete without worship, finding no other solace but His Word and His sacraments. And in surrendering to His love, in accepting the daily challenge to get up early and meet Him in the Eucharist, I find ever more joy.